The CTBC Anti-Drug Educational Foundation, which is dedicated to implementing the vision of a “drug-free homeland,” on Thursday said it received NT$14.68 million (US$476,623) in donations from Walter Wang (王文祥), a member of its own board of trustees, who hopes the donation would encourage the foundation’s efforts to foster volunteers to fight rampant drug use.
Foundation chairman Jeffrey Koo Jr (辜仲諒) offered thanks for the donation at a ceremony, calling Wang his “best ally in the fight against drugs.”
Koo said he and Wang shared a friendship spanning three decades and the establishment of the foundation in 2015 was inspired by Wang.
Photo courtesy of the CTBC Anti-drug Educational Foundation
Drugs take many forms and distribution channels target young people, Koo said, adding that he has dedicated his life to the fight.
Fighting drugs is like waging a war, only without guns and bullets, Koo said.
Only through advertisements, education and a great love for life could the foundation hope to win, he said.
Wang, who is chairman of J-M Eagle Inc, the world’s largest manufacturer of plastic pipes, has devoted himself to social welfare and helped spread awareness of the dangers of drug abuse in the US.
“One should dedicate their life to actions that would benefit others,” Wang said.
He said that the donation included NT$10 million for education on drug abuse and NT$4.68 million to help stop the vicious cycle of children in families with drug problems turning to drugs themselves.
In 2013, the US Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) Education Foundation gave Wang a Lifelong Achievement Award.
Wang was a member of the DEA foundation’s board.
He has been instrumental in bringing the two foundations together to forge an international platform for drug-awareness education, the CTBC foundation said.
By sharing knowledge and experience from successful activities and education around the world, the collaborative effort could help find solutions for Taiwan’s drug problems, it said.
Since its inception in 2015, the CTBC foundation has organized 38 anti-drug exhibitions and 436 campus lectures, and edited educational material that is used in the elementary, junior-high and senior-high schools of eight counties and cities.
This year, the foundation broke new ground by working with the Ministry of National Defense to organize exhibitions that were attended by more than 20,000 military personnel.
The foundation has held educational events in every county and city in the nation, and its events at schools and elsewhere have engaged more than 300,000 people.
It received a commendation from the Executive Yuan last year for significant contributions to the national effort against drug use.
This year, the foundation received other accolades, including the Global Views Monthly Corporate Social Responsibility Forum Award, the Asia Responsible Enterprise Award, the Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Award and the Ministry of Education’s Social Education Public Service Award.
Children and minors are particularly vulnerable to drugs, it said.
As the age of those using drugs has decreased, the annual death toll from new psychoactive substances has increased, the foundation said.
The foundation said it hopes enterprises and society can work toward a drugs-free homeland by “spreading knowledge about drugs with education and fight drugs with cooperation.”
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